6. New regulations
The 2017 WorldSBK season will see a number of small but crucial changes to the technical regulations which could well throw a spanner in the works in the early stages of the year.
In 2017, all bikes must now run single throttle bodies. In previous years some manufacturers were splitting the throttle bodies to make power delivery much smoother and predictable during cornering. This is now banned and riders will now have to deal with all of their motorcycle’s power in the one go.
This will prove to be a headache in the early stages of the season, and will likely result in more sideways moments and crashes as everyone gets to grips with it.
Another key change is to Pirelli’s qualifying tyres, which will come into effect from the Aragon round onwards. Instead of riders getting just one bite of the cherry in Superpole 2, the new compound of qualifying tyre aims to give them three or four laps with which to set their best time.
This may seem like a small change but it could potentially shift the dynamic of qualifying, as those who previously struggled to maximise their one effort may now find themselves troubling the usual Superpole masters.
5. A new class
It’s not just the Superbike class that will be enthralling this year. 2017 sees a brand new series introduced to the WorldSBK package – World Supersport 300. WorldSSP 300 will serve as WorldSBK’s entry class and a viable alternative for riders seeking to get onto the world stage.
The series, at present, has 35 riders already signed up to battle it out for the title on A2 class motorcycles across all European rounds on the calendar. The aim is to mould the Superbike stars of the future and help manufacturers sell more 300cc sports bikes, a hot model in Asia and the United States – markets Dorna is keen to break into and capitalise on.
The 35-strong grid, which could well rise to 40+ at certain points with wildcards, is made up of an exciting bunch of familiar and fresh names at world level, including the likes of former grand prix riders Scott Deroue and Ana Carrasco.
As it’s a brand new series, the permutations are endless. And with Moto3-style, fairing-to-fairing racing expected, WorldSSP 300 will definitely be worth tuning into on a Sunday afternoon.
4. Can Kenan conquer again?
Kenan Sofuoglu is a Supersport master and dominated in 2016 for an astonishing fifth world title in the 600cc class. So, you’d be daft to bet against the Turkish rider in 2017. However, 2017 is shaping up to be Sofuoglu’s toughest year yet.
Sofuoglu is already on the back foot thanks to a wrist injury he picked up during some off-season training. At the time of writing, he is yet to even swing his leg over his Puccetti ZX-6R Kawasaki in 2017.
One of Sofuoglu’s biggest contenders could come from within. Team-mate Kyle Ryde endured a tough time in 2016, the Briton switching bike three times over the course of the season, but went well on the ZX-6R in the final few rounds. Highly rated by Sofuoglu, Ryde is looking threatening.
As is compatriot Kyle Smith, who beat Sofuoglu by just 0.006s in Qatar at the end of last season. Remaining with the CIA Landlords Insurance Honda squad, Smith will almost certainly be a contender, likewise his team-mate Jules Cluzel. The former grand prix rider and race winner managed to finish runner-up in the standings last year with MV Agusta, and enjoyed his best season in Supersport on a Honda back in 2010.
The big dark horses come in the form of the official GRT Yamaha team of Lucas Mahias and Federico Caricasulo, as well as Kallio Racing’s Sheridan Morais and Niki Tuuli. The latter of the quartet in particular is worth keeping an eye on. The Finn contested the final three European rounds of the season as a wildcard and finished on the podium in all three. Armed with the new YZF-R6, Tuuli could be a deadly force.
With so many strong contenders throughout the WorldSSP field this year, you certainly aren’t going to want to miss any of the action.
3. Reversed grids
2017 will see reversed grids introduced in WorldSBK. As always, the grid for the first race of the weekend will be determined by the results from qualifying. However, Sunday’s outing will see a reshuffled top nine.
The top three from Saturday’s race will drop to the third row, with the winner and third placed rider swapping positions. Those who finished behind the top three in race one will move up a row. 10th backwards will line up as they did on Saturday.
This particular rule change has come under a fair bit of scrutiny, but has been met with considerable praise from some of the riders as well. So, let’s not judge a book by its cover just yet.
The idea behind the change is to make the racing just that bit more unpredictable and produce a varied roster of podium finishers across the season, which will hopefully generate a little more buzz around the series.
It’s also hoped that some of the smaller teams will see greater value for their money, as they could find themselves fighting up towards the sharp-end on a Sunday afternoon.
Whatever your opinion of reversed grids, it is undoubtedly going to keep things interesting this season.
2. New and returning faces
The 2017 WorldSBK grid is one of the most varied and exciting for quite a while. Lining up alongside the usual suspects will be some familiar faces and some new ones too.
Eugene Laverty returns to the championship after two years in MotoGP. The 2013 runner-up joins forces with Shaun Muir’s Milwaukee Aprilia outfit and is already one of the dark horses for success in 2017.
Also back on the grid after a year on the sidelines is Marco Melandri. The 19-times race winner has a point to prove after a difficult half-season with Aprilia in MotoGP in 2015, and is already looking threatening on the Aruba.it Ducati.
Several big names will make their Superbike debut in 2017, one of them being 2011 Moto2 world champion Stefan Bradl. The German teams up with fellow former Honda MotoGP rider Nicky Hayden with the Japanese manufacturer on the all-new Fireblade.
Although the new bike is unproven, the success of Hayden in his maiden season last year should have Bradl brimming with confidence.
2016 World Supersport title contender and former grand prix rider Randy Krummenacher steps onto the Superbike grid for the first time this year, as will his Kawasaki Puccetti Racing team, who’ve been hugely successful in WorldSSP with Kenan Sofuoglu in recent years.
Though a title challenge may be a bit of stretch, the Swiss rider is certainly more than capable of top 10 performances and could well benefit from the new reversed grid format.
Completing the list of returnees and rookies are Leandro Mercado with Ioda Racing, Riccardo Russo with Guandalini Racing and the Grillini Racing line-up of Ayrton Badovini and Ondrej Jezek.
1. Rea's quest to make history
Kawasaki Racing’s Jonathan Rea made history last year by becoming the first Briton to win back-to-back WorldSBK titles since Carl Fogarty did so back in 1998, and also became the fifth rider in history to secure multiple championships.
Amazingly, as we enter WorldSBK’s 30th year, no one has ever won three titles on the bounce. Can Rea be the one to change that statistic?
Rea won nine races and claimed 14 other podium finishes during a hugely consistent 2016 campaign, so you’d be mad to bet against him to achieve something similar this season. Though he admits that last year was tough, 2017 is set to be even more difficult.
Ducati’s Chaz Davies emerged as the strongest rider on the grid in the second half of last year, winning seven of the last eight races and 11 overall. With the Panigale R looking in even better shape, the Welshman will be Rea’s closest challenger.
But what of Rea’s team-mate? Tom Sykes enjoyed a better campaign last year than he did in 2015, but inconsistency derailed the challenge his five race wins promised. Struggling to adapt to the new rules and likely to suffer further with the change to qualifying tyres and the new reversed grid format, the Yorkshireman faces an uphill battle.
As for the rest, Michael van der Mark’s move to Yamaha could very well be the what the Japanese manufacturer needs to see success in WorldSBK; though don’t count out his team-mate Alex Lowes. As mentioned earlier, Eugene Laverty on the Aprilia could spring a surprise, as could his team-mate Lorenzo Savadori.
The new Honda may need some time to get up to speed, but both Nicky Hayden and Stefan Bradl could make life difficult for the championship protagonists in the latter part of the season. That’s not forgetting the likes of Marco Melandri and Barni Racing’s Xavi Fores, who is one of the favourites to find big success from the reversed grid races.
There are so many names that could take the fight to Kawasaki and Rea in 2017. Add all of the changes to the Sporting and Technical regulations, and WorldSBK 2017 is shaping up to be the series’ best season ever.
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